Free Bird

She was staring at the ceiling, her mind whirling in a chaotic mess. With blank stares, she felt the tears sliding across her smooth cheeks. Suddenly the door creaked open. Her mum peeked in and whispered if she would like to go somewhere. She said she was fine and turned to the other side. Her mum walked in and patted her head lovingly. Asked her to get ready for a surprise.

She got up and got ready, her mind and heart wandering far away in the unknown. She climbed in the car and stared at the scenery but her mind didn’t process the usual beauty of nature : the dew that formed on the grass, the sky sporting wisps of white clouds and the air that came in bursts. After a while the car stopped and as she turned to look at the destination, her mouth dropped in surprise.

While her friends would rejoice at getting some retail therapy to alleviate stress, she felt nature in its glory was the perfect me time.

She asked her mum if she could be left alone. Her mum agreed and so she scampered quickly to the sand. She kicked off her shoes and let her toes sense the sinking dissolving sand. She bent down to stare at the shells. Marvelling at the intricate designs, she started collecting and placing them on the sand, pushing some deep within so that just a bit peeked through.

There were quite a few fair and white shells, polished and shining. Then there were tiny brown and black ones with markings that seemed to be shying away, hiding in the sand. Perhaps they were afraid that this visitor would reject them like the countless others in favour for the beautiful white ones. She scooped them up lovingly because for her, those markings, those scars made the brown and black shells even prettier. She played with them for a little while and then stood up to observe the water, the sky and the sea. The clouds of mist had vanished long ago and in their place were angry black clouds.Mimicking the state of her mind,they blocked the sun, its light and warmth and as she stood and gazed at the approaching storm, the clouds suddenly gave way and the sun shone through. It became so bright, the reflection of the pure warmth and grandeur of sunlight on water, that she couldn’t take it in. Momentarily blinded by beauty so rare, she was awestruck and speechless. The more she stared, the more it felt the sunlight was rushing through the water and entering in her. Filling her with warmth, inner joy, happiness and peace. The chaos that was her mind, was muffled by the harmonic wavelength of the sunlight.

She heard a kid’s cry and turned to see a little child stumble from a swing. As he got up and ran towards his mum, she ran towards the swing in glee. Picking up her shoes, she climbed onto the swing and started rocking back and forth to gain momentum. Once she felt she was flying, she closed her eyes to feel the breeze passing through her soul. Her mind felt a thousand times lighter. Her body too. She felt she could fly. And fly she did. She jumped from the swing, flung her body in the air and broke into a wide smile. Hurtled down to Earth in a millisecond. But that millisecond was enough for her. She felt euphoric. She looked up and saw a seagull flying high. It kept flying. The gravity wasn’t its enemy.

As she clambered back into the car, she gave a wide smile to her mum. Mum always knew best. The return journey was different. It had started raining and she opened the window a wee bit to feel the drops on her face. It felt as if God was giving her the whole invigoration package. Not only was she rejuvenated on the inside, but the raindrops freshened her up instantly as well.

She came back home and plonked on her bed with a sigh. A while later, she was fast asleep with a content smile.This time the ceiling stared at her.

OMG Really??? Congrats gurrrll!!! Proud of you. I shall be looking forward to catching up on the series in the Easter break coming this week with a warm cup of tea in hand, snuggled under a blanket in this rainy weather.

Wow! This is some post Aaliyah. The description is so vivid and so beautiful. The pictures just emphasise the image your words paint. I feel slightly jealous of you that you can visit just a nice beach.
Over here, I remember going to the Juhu beach in Mumbai. I was just getting ready for this perfect pose with the setting sun in the background when this kid came out of nowhere with snot running down his nose and with the sole intention of photobombing my perfect Facebook dp. After chasing him off, I got ready again, and this time this woman came up to me and said, “Beta hum logo ki photo kheencho zara.” So after all the posing and rejecting photos by the whole family, I realised the sun had set a long time back. *Facepalm*

Thank you for the sweet words. Always welcome to visit the beauty of beaches here in Australia.
Your anecdotes always make me laugh hard. Such vivid description that I cringed imagining the snot dribbling from the kid’s nose yucckk!!!
Awww nooo, next time photoshop yourself against the setting sun. Photoshop’s sun never sets 😛

AZ,this was one of your best posts! The ending was so lovely. 🙂
You know I can relate to alot of things..shells,ocean,eagle and the swing.
I feel jealous of birds because they can fly but when you are on the swing it is as if you are just closer to the sky. ❤
Great pictures!
Even I went to the beach this Friday,watching the ocean and the way sunlight hits the sea foam is all too magical.
Umm one question when did you take the second last picture?I am just wondering because of the colour of the water. 🙄

Awww thank you Inky.
Yeah I know!! Its such an exhilarating feeling.
I did check your beach post and yours had sunnier pictures in comparison to mine. True beauty!!
We went late evening but due to daylight savings, sun sets at 8 here and we went around 5ish, so yeah. It was a rainy stormy weather as evident from the clouds.

Beautiful narration, I can feel every bit of it.’She felt euphoric. She looked up and saw a seagull flying high. It kept flying. The gravity wasn’t its enemy.’ You put up a very strong line, it is so encouraging. Indeed gravity didnt work against the seagull or he knew how to overcome the forces pulling it ,balance and leverage these forces to his advantage . The sky and sea look beautiful always love the pics, I am a sea person, seeing water always calms me down and let me think more clearly.

MashaAllah loved it “harmonic wavelength of sunlight”and especially the way you finished it , ” This time the ceiling stared at her”.
A great author in making who has the ability to reach to millions hearts.
Proud of you.
Keep smiling.:)

Aaliyah! I love the end!
And wow, you field tripped on the beach! I haven’t been to the beach in months 😦 I swear I miss it. But it’s too cold for the beach these days.
Also, I love those pictures. And I especially love that eagle. I swear flying birds make me feel amazing. 😀
And truly, the beach is one of the most beautiful places that relieve stress. 🙂